Happy Hump Day, friends and fans!

Talk of the 2019 NFL Draft should start to heat up as the stages of the college football season become bigger and brighter. In spite of his size, Marquise Brown figures to be a player scouts will want to pay close attention to. In his second season with the Oklahoma Sooners, he’s made explosive plays in a multitude of ways. Bleacher Report released a mock draft and have Brown going 16th overall to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Of course, it’s way too early to tell the order of the upcoming draft, much less who will or won’t be declaring, but the middle of the first round would be quite a feat. I certainly wouldn’t put it past Hollywood to go that high. Hell, it’s rare that anything gets past him in the first place.

Now onto today’s Hot Links! Mike Leach successfully duped Texas back in ‘99, Jadon Haselwood re-opened his recruitment, new video may have upended Kobe’s no-flinch boss move and more!

OU Links

• When it comes to the OU-Texas rivalry, the lines between what’s right and wrong begin to blur. Almost anything goes in the name of winning. Go back to 1999, Bob Stoops’ first season in the rivalry. According to a new piece from Jake Trotter, Sooners offensive coordinator Mike Leach purposely planted a false play script for the Texas staff to find. Now, the trick would only work if they actually bought it. Did they buy it? Very, very much so — at least for a little bit. Of course, Texas would come back to win by a score of 37-27.
• NCAA head coaching salaries have been compiled into a rankings list by USA Today, and Lincoln Riley is tied for 15th at $4,800,000 prior to incentives. With him being such a promising coach and the NFL potentially calling, I’d expect this to go up from year to year — perhaps by quite a bit. Would it be enough to compete with the dollar amount hypothetically offered by, say, the Cowboys? Perhaps not, but Lincoln’s future college salary could easily be competitive with most potential NFL offers. Understandably, Nick Saban leads the way at over $8 million annually.
• On Wednesday morning, the OU Army ROTC began their annual tradition of running to Dallas to deliver the game ball. See you all at the finish line!

• Kyler Murray’s baseball skills help him on the football field, and vice versa. From moving around in the pocket, sliding downfield, and even throwing, what he’s learned from his dual-sport background is one of the main reasons why he’s one of the leading Heisman candidates.
• Speaking of Murray, he’ll be the toughest individual player the Texas defense has faced all season. Conversely, the Texas defense will be the toughest Murray has seen since he became Oklahoma’s starter.
• CeeDee Lamb is making incredible one-handed catches on an almost weekly basis. Lincoln Riley argues that one he made against Baylor might be his best in a game all season.
• With how quick Oklahoma’s offense can score, how much does that hurt Mike Stoops’ defense? The Sooners don’t necessarily run a hurry-up full-time, but explosive offensive plays make for brief breaks for the defense.
• Kennedy Brooks is an avid chess player when he’s not playing football. Amazingly, he’s also been able to adapt some of his chess skills to the field.
• Five-star receiver Jadon Haselwood has decommitted from the in-state Georgia Bulldogs. The reason why this is particularly interesting for Oklahoma is because his father, Jeremy, is an OU grad and an active supporter in alumni events in Atlanta, and Jadon grew up watching and rooting for the Sooners because of his father’s ties. Currently, there are three top-flight receivers on OU’s commitment list for the class of 2019, but Haselwood has the kind of talent simply can’t be ignored.

• Sophomore forward Brady Manek drew some comparisons last season to the great Larry Bird for his wispy ‘stache and overall similar stature. Now he’s grown his hair out and fully embracing the essence of Larry Legend.
• Speaking of basketball, in case you missed it, Oklahoma revealed its new-look uniforms under Jordan Brand. With popular past players like Blake Griffin, Buddy Hield, and Trae Young all in the NBA, the major uptick in recruiting, Jordan Brand, plus all the upgrades still in the works to facilities, Oklahoma is on the cusp of becoming a real basketball giant in a region mostly known for its football programs.
• Also make sure to read up on Allen Kenney’s breakdown of Texas’ run game. QB Sam Ehlinger figures to be a prominent piece of the Longhorns’ rushing attack on Saturday, and while Oklahoma’s defense has done a great job at nullifying big gains on the ground, making them inefficient will be the next task.

Around the Sports World

• Turns out the prank calls during Mike Gundy’s teleconference on Monday were from actual members of the media under fake names and affiliations. He still had it coming, though.

• Okay, so most of you have probably seen this clip before. Kobe Bryant stands right in front of Matt Barnes and doesn’t flinch when MB fake-chest passes the ball in his face. Now people are starting to freak out because new footage of the clip shows a different angle where he’s actually not in front of him. Is everything in my life just a lie?

• It could have been worse, Malik Monk. You could have forgotten your shorts instead. Okay, now hustle back to the locker room and grab that jersey.

• Soccer fans might really be the craziest fans of all sports. Seriously, who else throws whole heads of cabbage at coaches?
• A 6’3”, 350-pound wildcat QB is the most high school football thing I’ve ever seen, and I’m so here for it.

Stick to Sports!

• The Iron Ox company has opened its first fully autonomous indoor hydroponic farm, which can yield up to 30 times more produce than an outdoor hydroponic farm in less space. The robotic-run farm grows leafy greens like kale and spinach. Iron Ox hopes to expand it’s product all over the U.S. to produce fresher choices in all marketplaces.

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